The present invention relates to devices for removing pollutants from internal combustion engine emissions and in particular to an air-pollutant separator for removing pollutants from the exhaust and other engine sources of emission.
The continuing effort to develop ways and means of reducing the pollution from internal combustion engines is well known. This effort continues on at least two broad fronts. On the one hand there is modification of engine operation or replacement with a different type of power source. On the other hand, there are efforts to develop accessories for use with internal combustion engines with and without accompanying engine modifications, both at the intake and exhaust sides of the engine to prevent the engine from creating one or the other of the undesirable types of emissions and to trap and entrain the pollutants emitted by the engine prior to the discharge of the exhaust from the engine to the atmosphere.
Illustrative of such accessories are the catalytic converters which are being utilized in the exhaust system of internal combustion engines. The palladium catalyst used by the converters is a prime factor in requiring engines to be modified so that they can operate on non-leaded fuels. The use of leaded fuels quickly "poison" the palladium catalyst utilized in such converters, thereby quickly rendering them ineffective. The positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system for reducing pollution due to crankcase emissions including the PCV and valve converter is another example of such engine accessories.
Other examples are filtering devices such as typified by the anti-smog and exhaust device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,031. In this approach, a rotatable drum containing a filtering material is disposed about a central tube through which the exhaust emissions from an engine are conducted away from the engine. A filtering fluid is mixed with the exhaust emissions prior to entry into the filtering device and upon entry the pollutants are caused to be deposited upon the filtering material contained within the rotating drum and ultimately caused to drain through the filtering material to a reservoir at the bottom of the drum.
Such a system is characterized by a number of disadvantages, including the necessity for an elaborate mechanical drive system in order to rotate the drum and an inability to continually circulate and filter the fluid used to coat the filtering material.